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It is good to see director Suneel Darshan slither out of his old skin, shed his old style of making overtly sentimental and soppy movies, and try a new genre in his latest flick Shakalaka Boom Boom .

'Shakalaka' has a dose of all those ingredients that will catch the pulse of today's youth. It has looks, style, music, glamour and skin show (thanks to Celina Jaitley). This cocktail makes the movie go Shakalaka in the first half. And when the egos of the film's protagonists collide in the second half, the film goes Boom Boom. Although there are fronts on which the movie falters, overall it remains a fairly enjoyable watch.

AJ ( Bobby Deol ) is a singer-composer-dancer at the pinnacle of his career in New York. He hogs the top spot on the music charts.

Reggie ( Upen Patel ) is the new kid on the block. He is immensely talented, has a natural knack for composing catchy melodies, and has scant respect for AJ's music. On top of it, Reggie is highly ambitious and out to topple AJ from his undisputed top spot.

Ruhi ( Kangana Ranaut ) is a budding singer who happens to be the lucky girl the two men in the story fall for. She adores AJ, but an indecent proposal from him drives her away from him. Rather, Ruhi falls for the charm of Reggie.

And then there is Sheena ( Celina Jaitley ), a PR professional with captivating curves and cleavage.

Reggie literally uses Sheena as the first rung on his ladder to fame, uses her contacts to come to the notice of big shots in the music industry, and once his job is done, he conveniently dumps her (God knows why).

The mind games begin when AJ realizes that Reggie can threaten his position in the music industry. Skidding through all the manipulative tricks in the trade of cut-throat competition, 'Shakalaka Boom Boom' reaches its high note with a predictable duel between the two protagonists. And the better one of the two men wins.

SBB is a better product than Suneel Darshan 's previous pakaoo films, but the filmmaker's execution still has much room for improvement. The modern look, sleek cinematography, the styling of characters and the catchy music are all right, it is the presentation of the story which is not without some obvious clichs.

The film's plot traverses a very stereotypical path in the most part of the first half. Just before the interval, a slight twist kindles your almost faded interest. From there on, the movie builds on the rivalry between Bobby and Upen. The egos are ruffled, people are manipulated, trust is broken and mind games are played.

Bobby Deol gives a notable performance as a man of inflated ego, intoxicated with success. And for the first time Upen Patel gives something to write about his performance. Upen's arrival infuses some life into the lethargic pace of the film in the first half. Although his acting still leaves much to be desired, the boy has a charm that comes through on the silver screen.

Kangana Ranaut is efficient while Celina Jaitley looks ravishing. There is hardly any chemistry between Bobby and Kangana. On the other hand, Kangana's scenes with Upen are much better.

Himesh Reshammiya 's music is the backbone of this film. The singer-composer has slightly strayed away from his usual style in a number of small songs.

To sum it up, 'Shakalaka Boom Boom' is no great shakes. It is an above average product that provides full timepass entertainment.

And that rating is only because one has to give something. Suneel Darshan's latest masala flick has broken all records in how appallingly bad cinema can get.

Shaka Laka Boom Boom comes in the category of less then B-grade movies with more than B-grade actors… umm… err… stars rather.

The film revolves around the ego of a commercially superior artist and how it destroys everything that he cherishes. Bobby Deol (AJ) is a top musician in the US of A (???) with a string of five hit albums when in walks Upen Patel (Raghav aka Reggie), a rude and brash lad who is a genius at creating music but cannot create opportunities for himself. The film deals with the encounter of AJ's painstaking talent for music with Reggie's effortless genius, which spawns a rivalry in AJ that ends in a road to self-destruction. A very interesting premise that has immense opportunities to explore multiple layers, but fails to realize them due to faulty screenplay, faulty direction, faulty characterization, faulty acting, where does one stop.

The ending pays tribute to the quintessential victory of good over evil in contrived situations and leaves you thankful that the trauma has ended.

The film proves that there really is a dearth of good writers in the industry and the industry needs to do something about this ASAP. A weak script is held together by some snazzy video album type editing, (which is becoming a standard and sadly, another definition of 'slick') which in turn is accentuated by some ear-splitting and nerve-jarring background music. Everything is told, every motivation, emotion, action is told rather than shown, a cardinal sin in scriptwriting. Besides, whatever events happen, happen in neat packages of convenience which pretend to take the movie forward 'quickly'. Characterizations are weak and at all times mono-faceted.

The remaining problems of the film arise from flawed characterizations. The fact that Upen Patel and Bobby Deol completely fail to evoke any emotions through their multiple manipulations of their face muscles is a result of that. The fact that the casting for the film except for the girls was all wrong is a result of that. And the fact that the direction could not elevate the characters, their emotions and the story from the resultant mess is a fault of that.

Each character has one emotion/ motive/reason in the film 'to be' and continues to be that for two and half excruciatingly boring hours. Bobby Deol, in the role of super-successful musician does not convince, (maybe a singer would be better choice for our star who looks like he has forgotten what a comb is). He tries hard to emote but the emotions fail to rise up from his lips to his eyes and at the most remain in the voice. Upen Patel, thoroughly miscast, badly needs to go back to London and learn acting or just do roles that don't challenge him so. Celina Jaitley, has precious little to do and you thank the director for that foresight. Kangana is the only soothing sight for the eye not only with her gorgeous straight-hair look and Manish Malhotra clothes (which are fab) but because the woman manages to pull off a convincing performance in a drab role. And with someone else's voice.

For a film which revolves around music and the music industry it was imperative that the songs and music in the film are striking. Sadly, they are not. None of the songs are distinguishable from each other mainly due to the almost same beat pattern in all and the same treatment. It makes all the more difficult to digest just why the character of Bobby Deol is so successful and that of Upen Patel a genius? And that too in the land of Uncle Sam!

Cinematography is strictly average except for a few songs which border around imaginatively shot. Tilting the camera a few times to establish evil intentions does not generate suspense. Watch Ashok Kumar in Kismet in the famous railway station scene, to see what simple yet ingenious lighting and involved acting can do.

The film has some of the most prominent people in the industry heading various departments. If there is Manish Malhotra doing costumes, there is Bosco-Ceaser doing choreography. If there is Abbas Ali Moghul doing the thrills then there is additional cinematography by Sanjay F Gupta. But it all proves that without the foundation of a strong script all else is fruitless.

The film is meant for the B and C centers but is doubtful if it will catch on the fancy of the town-guy either. Let's hope it recovers its initials at least.

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